Friday, April 16, 2010

Shreya "Nightingale" Ghoshal

Leaves could sing, bees could sing, you could sing, people from nether could sing, but when she sings “Jaisi Koyal gaathi hai vasa hi Vo gaathi hai”. If she sings even the vengeful lover will melt. With a voice that sounded surrealistic, Shreya Ghoshal entered filmdom with the haunting “bairi Piya” that keeps lingering in my ears, Shreya has transcended into the Goddess of playback singers (of this generation) not only for her unquestionable talent and command over singing, but mainly for her expressions and the feel she is able to bring out with every song. She is being a perfect example in justifying the emotions required for a song (be it in almost any genre). The way she acclimates to the peak with her sugary yet commanding voice and renders “Aavaz hun main!” in the song “tu mera dost hain”, she proclaims her throne as the Nightingale of India (Yes let us all accept Lata Ji is very old to sing “Teere Oor” now). Similarly in the song “kaise mujhe” where the same pair feature, even as we were engrossed at the technical expertise of Benny, the way Shreya enters the scene with serenity and poise singing pitch-perfect as a matter of factually and she enthralls us with her expressive intonations that flows with the intricate variations that the tune contains, which Benny had earlier very forcibly projected. More than the tune, the way she pleas is what sets her apart from others; a perfect example being the way she confesses “tuj mein rab diktha hai” for Rab Ne banadi Jodi and we helplessly listen to it again and again to be sanctified. If that is one side of her, then the way she renders “paar vale kinnare” in the song “Barso re” from Guru speaks volumes of her balance over classical singing, pronunciation and intonating the lyrics according to the tunes. With so much said and yet it seems to me I have said very less for “Taaref yeh bhi tho, saach hai kuch bhi nahin”.